Who was I, before I entered this maze,
Is not something that I will remember.

As I entered the war-maze,
there was only the life-threatening
closeness between the enemy and me.
Even this, I will not realize.

After getting out of the maze
Even if I earn my freedom,
The maze by itself, will not change. Unaltered.

To die or to kill,
To be killed, or to take someone’s life,
Even this will not be decided.

As a man wakes from his sleep,
and starts to walk, he can never
again, see the world of his dreams.

In this light, the light of choices,
Will all be equal?

Impotence on one side,
Manhood on the other,
And in the centre,
(tipping the scale) is the
Half-Truth.

This excellent poem by Dilip Purushottam Chitre from the movie Ardh Satya. I saw this movie few days back and I must admit that It’s one of the excellent movie by Govind Nihlani.

Ardh Satya (1983) , was the second film of Govind Nihlani after Akrosh(1980). The Screenplay of both the movies by Vijay Tendulkar, was a leading Indian Playwright.

Ardh Satya is very intense movie, please don’t watch it if you like all those plot less or artificial comedy.

Movie stats with a party scene where Anant Velankar (Om Puri), a sub inspector in Bombay branch meets Jyotsna Gokhale (Smita Patil), a lecturer in literature.

Anant who is from a typical Indian police family (Strict father –Amrish Puri, subservient, docile mother). Anant grows up unable to stop his father from beating his mother or making his own choice on higher education. As a sub inspector he is trying to overcome all his inability of yester years by being a strict officer. But he finds it hard to survive in the corrupt world as a straight Shooter. when the politically well connected criminals get away so easily, He feels the same inability that he felt when his father used to beat his mother.He takes it personally as a dent to his male ego.

Rama Shetty (Sadashiv Amrapurkar ), a don in the local mafia. Nonchalant acting.

Mike Lobo (Naseeruddin Shah) portrays as an once straight forward inspector. Because he wasn’t able to adjust with the corrupt department, end up loosing his job and begging on the street for his livelihood. He becomes a symbolic warning to Anant. Anant compromises many times his principles to avoid suspension when his boss Haider Ali (Shafi Inamdar) explains him to understand the situation (What we call today, being a practical person).

In a scene Jyotsna (Smita Patil) gives Anant Walenkar (Om Puri) a poem to read from a book that she is carrying, Ardh Satya, to him. Anant begins to read the poem aloud – but as the meaning sinks in, his smile vanishes; he continues reading in a more subdued & somber tone. Check out this youtube video